Maintain Your Motivation!

Some people spend a great deal of their energy hoping or searching for a fresh start. It sometimes goes like this: “If I could only change”—fill in the blank—“things would be different!”

The opportunity to change often comes after an interruption to our normal schedule. Maybe your family moves, and you must navigate a new school. Or maybe you have to look for a new summer job. It could even follow a wonderful opportunity such as attending Ambassador Youth Camp or the Feast of Tabernacles.

“What lessons can I take with me beyond this wonderful experience?” a person focused on self-improvement might ask.

What most do not realize is that life is all about change and our response to it. This is by design.

In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, King Solomon explained, “In the day of prosperity be joyful, but in the day of adversity consider: God also has set the one over against the other, to the end that man should find nothing after him” (7:14).

A simple way of putting this is that life is filled with ups and downs.

How we negotiate these peaks and valleys—whether it is striving to move through a trial, or capitalizing on previous success—determines the quality of our lives.

The Time Is Now

The return to normal life after major opportunities, such as AYC or the Feast, can feel like a new start. Yet the reality of life is that a fresh start can come whenever you want it to—and you do not have to wait until adulthood to make life changes.

As a Jewish teenager in Nazi Germany, Anne Frank hid with her family in Amsterdam before being caught and killed at age 15. Yet she is remembered not only for her tragic circumstances but also for her incredible optimism and determination. She was motivated by an observation in her diary: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”

As teenagers living God’s Way, you understand that a truly changed world will only come with the arrival of God’s Kingdom, but our learning and growth now is still all-important!

Youth is a time of vitality and growth, a period when decisions made will not only impact who you become but also your eternal potential. God wants all teens to focus on leading productive and fulfilling lives that reflect His purpose.

Yet all of us are different. We each have personal desires and interests we want to develop. Motivation plays a critical role in pursuing these ambitions. Without it, even the best opportunities can feel overwhelming or slip by unnoticed. What can you do to keep moving forward and make meaningful progress?

“Stick-to-it-iveness”

What can prove challenging with any goal—small, medium or large—is staying with it. Maintaining motivation is perhaps the greatest determination of our success. It can mean the difference between certain victory and painful failure.

A simple dictionary definition of motivation is: “the reason or reasons one has for acting a certain way” (Oxford Languages Dictionary). The meaning of the word gives insight into what is required for motivation: the right goals.

The book of Proverbs further explain that “every purpose is established by counsel” (20:18). Big- and medium-sized decisions benefit from this principle. In most cases, your parents are the best place to start. Their guidance is vital, and they can also help determine who else might have good advice.

Once a goal has been established, it is easier to see the benefits of remaining on track, which naturally fuels motivation.

For example, if you have carefully selected an education or career path, you may think: “With this career choice I can enjoy what I do, work toward building a family if there is time, and help support the Work of God.” The reasons behind the goal are the motivation. They will give you the perseverance—sometimes called stick-to-it-iveness—to follow through to achievement. Defining your reasons for pursuing something is so important that many find it helpful to write them down for regular review.

Realize that we have motivations in every endeavor, no matter the scale. On a small level, it might be as simple as: “I’m hungry, so I am motivated to make a sandwich.” Or on the grandest scale: “I want to seek first the Kingdom of God. That motivates me to live God’s Way.”

While this principle is easy to understand, searing it into our minds is crucial to success. Here are some tried-and-true techniques you can use to ensure your motivation does not slip away.

Step 1: Adopt the Right Mindset

This step is short and easy with the foundation of correct goal setting already in place.

God explains in Proverbs that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (29:18). This verse has titanic meaning for anyone who is serious about succeeding in life. First, consider that without vision, failure is certain. But also consider the opposite: Where there is vision, you can succeed!

Having the right goal to look forward to helps ensure success. The definition of the Hebrew word translated vision in this verse can be summarized as “mental sight.” Can you vividly see the benefits of achieving your goal? If so, motivation will naturally come. With this goal-oriented mindset, motivation is certain!

Step 2: Take Action

Discouragement is the enemy of motivation. A lack of progress can be overwhelming, paralyzing or even make someone want to give up. Action is the ultimate antidote to discouragement. Seeing progress naturally fuels motivation.

Try breaking your task into small, more manageable steps.

Outline your plan (maybe get help from a parent here), then take action! As the ancient Chinese saying goes, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” God in Proverbs makes plain that “In all labor there is profit” (14:23). All is all-encompassing! Every bit of success will breed greater motivation.

Step 3: Assess Your Progress

Take stock of your progress on a regular basis. How frequently you do so will flow naturally from the size of the goal. Use your initial plan of action to accurately and objectively measure success. Be excited about the progress made—let it further motivate you.

Modify your plan as needed. Things seldom turn out exactly as planned. Remaining flexible is key.

“The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry,” a line from a famous poem by Robert Burns, has been used to illustrate how things do not always turn out as we expect. We can do our best to plan, but must realize “time and chance happens to them all” (Ecc. 9:11). Remaining mentally upbeat when confronting obstacles and modifying our course is key to staying motivated.

There are also times when goals change altogether. Maybe the career choice you were pursuing no longer interests you. After careful consideration, prayer and counsel, you may decide to change course. Perhaps a goal was not a good one in the first place, or circumstances have changed such that the goal no longer makes sense. In such cases, motivation will dry up. Do not be afraid to move on.

Follow Through

While some goals may change for good reason, many do not. We should strive mightily to achieve them.

If our objectives are reasonable and in line with God’s will, we will succeed. Proverbs 16:3 says, “Commit your works unto the Lord, and your thoughts shall be established.”

“Thoughts” here includes our plans. Success is certain even if it comes in a form different from what we originally imagined, and the thrill of progress will propel us to new and different goals.

Jesus Christ said this about all who would follow Him through the centuries, including we who are in God’s Church today: “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10).

Those who understand that God’s Kingdom will come have a unique opportunity to prepare for leadership in it! God wants us to live active, productive lives, growing with each new experience. This allows us to be used more effectively during this time to come.

So many today are content to just get by with minimal effort. Yet God says, “Whatsoever your hand finds to do, do it with your might” (Ecc. 9:10). Christianity is a dynamic life of achievement!

As motivation deteriorates in a degenerating world, youth in God’s Church must fight the tide. Christ clearly explained the impact our examples can have on others: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matt. 5:16).

While we should never let our lights shine just to show off, know that your motivated pursuit of right goals will be noticed in this life. And the character you develop will be an invaluable asset in helping others in the Kingdom of God.

With so much opportunity before us, let’s stay motivated!